DelMarva Peninsula Circumnavigation

[Frank Vernet]

Planning to do this sometime this summer. When would you go? June, July, August?

Average wind speeds (1984-2001) approx. 25 nm offshore for all 3 months is 15 kts. http://ndbc.noaa.gov/images/climpot/44009_ws.jpg

Direction appears to vary between easterly to southerly.

Thanks

v/r

[jerryaxler]

I would go in late June or early July because of weather related problems. Early June can and has been cool and rainy in the past few years. The later into August you go the higher probabilty of hurricane and gale force winds. Check the historic incidence of hurricanes on the Noaa site. Last year we headed up to Maine in early June and wore winter clothes until the end of June. Granted the further northeast we went the less likely it would warm up, but it was cold for the first part of the trip also.

[Sea Hunt]

Hello Frank:

There was an informative article on "Circumnavigating Delmarva" in the magazine Sail, November 2006 issue, beginning at page 48. Four guys did a clockwise circumnavigation on a Hallberg Rassy 34 in May.

If you want a copy of this article, and are unable to find a copy of the November 2006 Sail issue, send me a PM with your address and I will mail you a copy of the article.

[tartansailor]

Frank,
A fellow at the Broadkill Marina did just that in a Tartan 34 last August. He reports that the trip up the coast was a non stop screaming reach. We are planning the same trip this year with allot of gunkholeing in the Chesapeake.
Dick

[bill2]

I'd go for spring if I was sure of my boat ( and self ) before things got crowded in either of the bays - but might want to go "during the sailing season" if I wanted company when stopped for the night

and

being from Annapolis I suspect that you're already allowing for the deadly calms of August in the Chesapeake Bay.


Good Luck

[Russell]

If I was doing this trip I would probably chose september. The heat and lack of wind on the chesapeake in the dead of summer is brutal. The deleware portion isnt fun reguardles of time of year, but later in the year when its cooler the deadly biting flies should be less of an issue. The altantic portion I wouldnt worry about averages for X month, your going to be looking for a decent weather window reguardless. And hurricanes are a non issue, it not a long enough trip to factor them in at this point in long term planning.

Personally I would suggest just using your time to cruise the chesapeake, the deleware portion isnt great. Though i understand the excitement of doing the atlantic portion, which is I guess the real appeal of the DelMarVa trip.

Anyways, I would seriously consider going a tad later then your currently thinking.

[John D.]

http://www.cblights.com/cruising/Delmar ... gation.pdf

[jerryaxler]

The way Frank posed the question, I assumed that this trip was planned with a very narrow window. Most of us in the real world use vacation time for these short trips which can have a fairly rigid time frame not allowing for weather windows. If this is not the case, my thinking would be entirely different.
As far as transiting Delaware Bay, running the bay with the current running in opposition to the wind is extremely uncomfortable and can be punishing to both boat and crew. While there are not many places to stop on the Delaware, the mouth of the Cohansey and behind Reedy dike are excellent places to take a break and anchor.
I would avoid Chesapeake City, since it is often crowded and very noisy. Anchoring on the Bohemia is my preference with little loss in miles made.

[Jim Davis]

John Frank

Very good write up and the suggestions are excellent. Hope you don't mind, I saved a copy.

My wife and I did the trip about 10 years ago in an Alberg 30 and found it quite doable. I would make a couple suggestions:
1. Go counterclockwise from Cape Charles. Leave reasonable AM and plan on a mid-day arrival at Cape May. This way you get the benefit of the prevailing winds. Also if your weather window slams shut you aren't stuck with the Delaware to look forward to. Even if it is nasty, the southern Chesapeake is workable and good cruising country. Besides there is always next year.
2. In addition to Cape May you can use Roosevelt Inlet at Lewes, DE. A nice stop, but I would hail a local fisherman before entering, perhaps also USCG Cape May.
3. Half way up the Delaware is the Cohansey River. A common anchorage is right inside to the right is a bight. I prefer to go up the river past the marinas and anchor in a straight stretch (in the middle). There is a lot of tidal current in the river and it is heavier in the lower river anchorage. I don't like the Delaware at night, especially if the wind is on the nose.
4. The Maptech chart book covers the entire route.
5. You can get good fuel and water in Cape Charles. Also talk to the Coast Guard there. They an update the weather for you from the computer.
6. June is a fairly good time, but September is also good.

All in all a good non-macho, macho trip that gives good bragging rights.

[Russell]

The way Frank posed the question, I assumed that this trip was planned with a very narrow window. Most of us in the real world use vacation time for these short trips which can have a fairly rigid time frame not allowing for weather windows. If this is not the case, my thinking would be entirely different.
As far as transiting Delaware Bay, running the bay with the current running in opposition to the wind is extremely uncomfortable and can be punishing to both boat and crew. While there are not many places to stop on the Delaware, the mouth of the Cohansey and behind Reedy dike are excellent places to take a break and anchor.
I would avoid Chesapeake City, since it is often crowded and very noisy. Anchoring on the Bohemia is my preference with little loss in miles made.

Of course I am not sure of the situation, Frank may be a teacher and those months are thus the ones he has off, or has kids in school who he wishes to bring on the trip, thus those months are still the preferable ones. If vacation is flexible then I still recommend september, if not then I would lean towards early june or late august.

I agree as well on avoiding Chesapeake City. In a CD33 isnt shouldnt be too difficult, reguardless of direction, to do the delware and the canal in a single run. I am not sure the direction planned. But an anchorage in the Bohemia or the Sassafras on the Chesapeake side, and on the Cape May end either Uteches Marina or anchoring off the coast guard station on the other end(I wouldnt recommend any other marina there).

Depending on currents and day lengths, it may mean some night running, but the delware is very well lit and marked and the canal as well is easy to do at night. The big concern is ship and barge traffic, which can be heavy on both the deleware and the canal, but both easy to deal with using your radio and knowing your lights. Last year I did the canal at night, october, ussually freezing, very bad fog (and having just returned from a summer in new england, I still considered this bad fog) yet still found the canal to not be a problem.

Bottom line though, the delware is nowhere to do in bad weather, so when waiting for your weather window take the full length of the deleware and atlantic portion into account, or be prepared to hang around cape may for awhile.

Cape May in the harbor itsself is not an exciting place(and not pretty), though a cab ride can get you to the exciting bits if your held up a few days. Its also a good town for repairs, if needed. Not only do you have a west marine there, but you have a shop that caters to commercial boats where you can find even the oddest fitting, its a warehouse more then a store though. When in Cape May, anyplace you plan to go outside of the marked channels ( ie any marina or fuel dock ) call first and ask for entry instructions, it gets suprisingly shallow very quick there.

Aside from chesapeake cruising guides, which I am sure you already have, the Mid-Atlantic Waterway Guide is great, lists all marine related facilities. Its very commercial, full of ads, nothing romantic about it, but the info in it can be a life safer. Your chesapeake cuising guide isnt going to tell you about available services in Ocean City MD, should you need to make an emergency stop, the Waterway Guide will though, I wouldnt do this trip without a copy of this book(plus a current Reeds East Coast as well, more technical and even more invaluable).

[tartansailor]

Well, were retired and have all summer. One alternative is to trailer the boat to Seaford and start the cruise down the Nanticoke.

We have sailed around the lower Delaware Bay and out 30 miles for tuna, and you are right, its featureless and the commercial tankers and freighters are something to fear.

Thanks for the anchoring venues.

Actually the plan is now evolving around bringing our Airstream to a campground in Tyaskin, rent a slip there and gunk hole.

The Maryland Cruising Guide put out by Williams and Heintz is our first attempt to get some more information.

Dick

[jerryaxler]

Get the Chesapeake Bay Magazine's cruising guide for great advice on gunkholes. it is not as comprehensive as some of the other guides, but well worth a copy.

[Frank Vernet]

As always, this fantastic CD community and CDSOA Board delivers.

A few thoughts:
1) I am keen on doing this because we sailed Sirius in/around Puerto Rico for 3 years and love the feeling of being on the ocean. Sailing the Bay is fine, but the open water aspect of this trip really appeals to me, and...let's be honest...the bragging rights
2) I am not necessarily constrained by a narrow window of opportunity. I have plenty of leave on the books and could easily take 2 weeks or more to do this. I mentioned the standard summer months just because it seemed like the logical time frame. That said, I understand only too well how miserable the Bay can be in August...so my thinking was leaning towards earlier before things got too hot. However, September was recommended so I will consider it as well.
3) I had not appreciated the Delaware Bay's lack of appeal and/or dangers. So thanks for that insight.
4) I'll look for the Nov06 Sail magazine - it ought to be at home...somewhere.
5) Thanks for the link to M. Jenkins' write-up. It's loaded with great info and recommendations.

Keep the advice flowing please. The more the better.

Thanks

v/r

[jerryaxler]

Don't let the comments about the Delaware put you off. Dangers are not the concern as much as discomfort and lack of adequate anchorages. BTW someone mentioned doing the Delaware at night which is easily doable, but stay in the main shipping channel, since there are many unlit pots and buoys especially between Reedy point and Salem nuclear.

[Bill Cochrane]

Get William Shellenberger's book Cruising the Chesapeake: A Gunkholer's Guide. It's exactly what it purports to be, and the 3rd edition covers up to New York and down to Virginia, including Delaware Bay and Cape May, as well as the bay.